Auditory subliminal stimulation: a re-examination.

Unconscious or subliminal perception has historically been a thorny issue in psychology. It has been the subject of debate and experimentation since the turn of the century. While psychologists now agree that the phenomenon of visual subliminal stimulation is real, disagreement continues over the effects of such stimulation as well as to its existence in other sensory modalities, notably the auditory. The present paper provides an overview of unresolved issues in auditory subliminal stimulation which explains much of the difficulty that has been encountered in experimental work in this area. A context is proposed for considering the effects of auditory subliminal stimulation and an overview of current investigations in this field is provided.     

Personal importance, motivation, and performance of older adults.

This investigation was conducted to examine whether older adults would improve their performance when given statements intended to make them feel important to a research study as well as statements concerning their over-all well-being. Women (n = 14) and men (n = 15) with mean ages of 76.0 yr. and 75.1 yr., respectively, were randomly assigned into a control group, a positive reinforcement group, and a group given statements of personal importance. Dependent measures on a rotary pursuit task, screw-and-nut assembly task, and an interest questionnaire were obtained during three separate visits. Data were analyzed with a 3 x 3 (Groups x Days) analysis of variance. While no significant group effects were found on any measure, a significant main effect was obtained for days, indicative of learning.     

A novel contact-lens system to assess visual hemispheric asymmetries.

A soft contact-lens system for achieving unilateral visual stimulation in a free vision format is described. Initial testing with light transmittance and visual perimetry indicated that the lenses created artificial visual-field deficits. The efficacy of the lenses as a technique for lateralizing visual input was evaluated by examining within-subject differences in performance on two visuospatial tasks. Speed and accuracy of performance were greater with visual input directed to the right hemisphere. These data support the lens design as a useful alternative to tachistoscopic procedures and previous lens systems.     

Using subtests of the Brain Age Quotient to screen for cognitive deficits among substance abusers.

The subtests of the Brain Age Quotient, a brief neuropsychological battery, were used to screen for cognitive impairment in a sample of 112 substance abusers. Each of the subtests was scored, using newly developed T scores corrected for age, education, and gender, for which a mean battery score of T less than 40 indicates general cognitive impairment. The chance-corrected agreement in finding cognitive dysfunction between this battery and the Average Impairment Rating T score from the Halstead-Reitan battery was adequate, kappa = .81. This result suggests that, for discerning global cognitive impairment, this relatively brief neurodiagnostic screening device may be an attractive alternative to the more time-consuming Halstead-Reitan battery.     

Effects of color of paper on which the Profile of Mood States is printed on the psychological states it measures.

The Profile of Mood States was printed on four different colors of paper (yellow, red, green, blue) and white to test whether the color of paper would influence mood state scores of 246 college students. Univariate analyses of variance identified color effects only on the Fatigue scale.     

Imputation of missing categorical data by maximizing internal consistency

This paper suggests a method to supplant missing categorical data by reasonable replacements. These replacements will maximize the consistency of the completed data as measured by Guttman's squared correlation ratio. The text outlines a solution of the optimization problem, describes relationships with the relevant psychometric theory, and studies some properties of the method in detail. The main result is that the average correlation should be at least 0.50 before the method becomes practical. At that point, the technique gives reasonable results up to 10–15% missing data.We thank Anneke Bloemhoff of NIPG-TNO for compiling and making the Dutch Life Style Survey data available to use, and Chantal Houée and Thérèse Bardaine, IUT, Vannes, France, exchange students under the COMETT program of the EC, for computational assistance. We also thank Donald Rubin, the Editors and several anonymous reviewers for constructive suggestions.     

Did Pearson reject the Neyman-Pearson philosophy of statistics?

I document some of the main evidence showing that E. S. Pearson rejected the key features of the behavioral-decision philosophy that became associated with the Neyman-Pearson Theory of statistics (NPT). I argue that NPT principles arose not out of behavioral aims, where the concern is solely with behaving correctly sufficiently often in some long run, but out of the epistemological aim of learning about causes of experimental results (e.g., distinguishing genuine from spurious effects). The view Pearson did hold gives a deeper understanding of NPT tests than their typical formulation as accept-reject routines, against which criticisms of NPT are really directed. The Pearsonian view that emerges suggests how NPT tests may avoid these criticisms while still retaining what is central to these methods: the control of error probabilities.A portion of this research was carried out during tenure of a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend Fellowship; I gratefully acknowledge that support. A version of this paper was presented at the 1987 meeting of the Society for Exact Philosophy. This paper benefited from discussions and communications with George Barnard and Isaac Levi. I thank Harlan Miller for helpful comments on earlier drafts.     

Revision algebra semantics for conditional logic

The properties of belief revision operators are known to have an informal semantics which relates them to the axioms of conditional logic. The purpose of this paper is to make this connection precise via the model theory of conditional logic. A semantics for conditional logic is presented, which is expressed in terms of algebraic models constructed ultimately out of revision operators. In addition, it is shown that each algebraic model determines both a revision operator and a logic, that are related by virtue of the stable Ramsey test.The author is grateful for a correction and several other valuable suggestions of two anonymous referees. This work was supported by the McDonnell Douglas Independent Research and Development program.